NC in DC: Duke's Education & Workforce Training Across North Carolina

Duke University and the higher education community are regularly driving progress and generating positive impacts in their home states via job creation, improved health outcomes, education and more. Through purposeful partnerships with the government and non-profit and for-profit entities, universities are helping their local communities flourish.

Join us for the inaugural event of the NC in DC series, Duke's Education & Workforce Training Across North Carolina, to learn how faculty and staff across Duke are directing programs that train individuals to become leading practitioners in their respective fields and bring valuable resources to local communities throughout North Carolina.

Speakers Include:

Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, Dean of the Duke School of Nursing

Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, PhD, MPH, LCSW, R.N., ANP-BC, PMHNP-BC, FAAN, serves as dean and professor at the Duke University School of Nursing and is Vice Chancellor for Nursing Affairs at Duke University. In addition, he is the founding director of the Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health (CLAFH) at Duke University. Before being appointed dean in July 2021, Ramos was a tenured professor at New York University (NYU) and Columbia University. Most recently, he held faculty appointments in nursing, public health, and social work at NYU. While at NYU, Ramos also served as Pilot Projects and Mentoring Core Director of a NIDA-funded P30 center and as Associate Vice Provost for Mentoring and Outreach Programs, a role in which he developed a university-wide mentoring infrastructure for the advancement of early career faculty, with particular emphasis on underrepresented faculty.

Liz DeMattia, Director of the Community Science Initiative at the Duke Marine Lab

Dr. Liz DeMattia is the director and founder of the Community Science Initiative at the Duke University Marine Laboratory (DUML) and has 26 years of experience conducting ecological research and developing outreach for community-based conservation programs. At DUML, Dr. DeMattia has trained 31 undergraduate and graduate students in community engagement; has created K-12 curricula on Marine Debris, Water Quality, Restoration, and Drones; and has also designed a storm water citizen science program (AdoptADrain) that connects high school students and teachers with researchers and community decision-makers.

Aaron Kyle, Professor of the Practice in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Duke University Pratt School of Engineering

Dr. Aaron M. Kyle focuses on enhancing undergraduate education while teaching First Year Design, Senior Design and Medical Device Instrumentation. Kyle aspires to create new courses that will provide robust design experiences for undergraduates between their first and final years of study. He is also devising methods and researching the efficacy of intentionally addressing DEI issues in design projects and engineering education. Prior to joining Duke, Kyle led summer design boot camps for New York City high school students, allowing students from the local community to enter university workspaces and build biomedical devices. Kyle is replicating the efforts from New York in North Carolina with the newly formed Outreach Design Education (ODE) Program.

Brad Thie, Director of the Thriving Rural Communities Initiative at the Duke Divinity School

Rev. Brad Thie, a 1998 Duke Divinity School graduate, has pastored United Methodist churches in North Carolina and has extensive experience ministering as a chaplain and spiritual counselor in prisons, hospitals, and retirement communities. Before joining Thriving Rural Communities in 2013, Thie served as pastor of Friendship UMC in Newton, N.C., a partner church with Thriving Rural Communities. "I have witnessed the transformative power of the ministry," Thie said. "Rural Fellows have blessed our church, our laity has grown through Duke learning events, and Friendship UMC has been encouraged in her ministry within the community."

Moderated by:

Chris Simmons, Interim Vice President of Public Affairs and Government Relations at Duke University

Chris Simmons oversees all aspects of Duke University's communications, marketing, and government relations and serves as a member of the President's Cabinet. He arrived at Duke in 2006 after serving in lead advocacy roles for the Association of American Universities (AAU) and the American Council on Education (ACE) in Washington, DC. Simmons is Duke's principal point of contact and spokesperson on legislative and regulatory issues involving the federal government and Congress in areas such as student financial aid, academic research, international education, tax policy, intellectual property, and immigration. He also oversees Duke in DC, Duke's academic center and home for research and official events in Washington, DC.

The panel discussion will be followed by a catered dinner and cocktail reception. Please RSVP by March 7.

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